Treasure Map
by blackdragonwingz
Summary: “Sasuke, that was good, wasn’t it?” Sakura put down the bowl with a satisfied sigh. “It was good.” Sakura nearly blanched. What was up with Sasuke? Bringing in lunch, the compliment, of course, the strange behavior. SasuSaku oneshots


Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I be writing fanfiction? Simply put, I don't own Naruto.

Here's a little one shot idea I that I've toyed with for some time now…so please, by all means, enjoy.

* * *

**-Treasure Map-**

"Sasuke, that was good, wasn't it?" Sakura put down the bowl with a satisfied sigh. "It was good." Sakura nearly blanched. What was up with Sasuke? First the lunch, then the compliment, and of course, strange, considerate behavior.

* * *

There were those with no subtlety. Screaming "I love you!" to the whole world, or romantically posting it upon some large bill board. 

Then there were those with the opulent dinners and hiding the ring under the menu.

There were even those that hid the ring inside a cake.

Then there were those who did not love.

That was Sasuke.

But…that was half a year ago.

"_I'm glad you're back." That's _all she said. No tears, no fawning, no happiness.

That was it?

But what was he expecting? For her to cry and hug him, never letting go? What expectations should he have of her, when she'd lost all expectation of him?

But honestly, he came back after revenge. He didn't have to; he could have become the kage of Sound.

He came back for _her_.

Forcing an upward kick, Sasuke panted in his exercise, a film of sweat covering his body. He jumped, and ran through trees as practice.

Couldn't she understand that?

Half a year ago….

Sasuke replaced his Sound clothes with that of his regular clothes, coming back to Konoha for _her_.

He'd said "Sakura," two years ago, "Thank you."

He didn't say what he truly felt between those phrases.

She said it for him, but she didn't know that.

When he came back, he wanted her seemingly undying love. She said she loved him, didn't she? He wanted so much from her.

That was when he realized his err.

He wanted her heart, her most treasured possession. In all the jewels Sakura had, he wanted the most prized one of all.

For a long time, Sakura had put that ruby onto a platter, on silken cushions, in sealed pink envelopes.

When Sasuke left that day, he thanked her for the gift and threw it away.

He laughed, a hoarse sound emanating from his being, as he continued to train. Lush sunlight poured out and reached his skin, reaching out.

It seemed like when he came back, he was the one reaching out for _her_.

First taking getting Team 7 back, then taking them to lunch, training with them, going on missions.

On those missions…

"Watch out!"

Running in front of her, Sasuke protected her at all costs, killing the enemies in a flash.

When he was done, Sakura would look at him in exasperation, punch him playfully, and mope for the rest of the day.

He took her to dinner, just the two of them, and she warmed up quite a bit. But she always held her distance.

Making lunch, Sasuke carried the food and left them in her medical office.

Sakura always came back to his house and made him some scrumptious dinner before leaving.

He punched thin air harder. For _her_.

All those times in Sound, he'd think about her, the gift he rejected.

His hand trembled. He wanted that jewel, and he almost took it. But he didn't take it. If he took it and never came back, then it would have been forever lost.

He came out of his fight with Orochimaru the victor. He left, seeking that ruby.

But when he came back?

"_I'm glad you're back. I've got training with Tsunade-shishou, so I'll catch up to you later."_

Then it hit him with a force so hard he completely stopped his series of moves.

Forgiveness.

* * *

Sakura walked down the hall of patients, a clipboard in hand, prioritizing the most serious patients by numbers. 

But her mind wandered…six months ago, _he_ came back. She worked so hard for the life she had today, for the person who she was today.

Sakura became more reserved, and protected herself. She buried her most precious of treasures.

There is only one map.

But when he came back, he disrupted it all, turning her life into chaos as he tried to find the map.

Clicking her tongue, Sakura cheerfully flitted trough the rooms, tucking in her patients and checking chakra levels, the works.

"Sakura?"

She stopped, and made sure her treasure was safely tucked away.

"Sasuke! Did you bring my favorite lunch?"

Nodding, Sasuke pulled her inside to her office, where he sat down on the chair across her desk.

With an eager stomach, Sakura opened the box to reveal luscious smoked meats with fragrant, pearl colored rice.

"Thank you, Sasuke." She said in her normal tone.

"Any new missions you want to tell me about?"

It had been, after all, a week since Sakura last talked to him.

"Wait, are you hurt? Is that why you came here?"

Of course he hurt. But not physically.

"Hn. Of course not. Like I would get hurt by a bunch of …"

She had that stern face again.

"Fine. I got cut. Happy?"

"Not yet. Where?"

Sasuke lifted one of his sleeves, to reveal a minor slit on his bicep.

"Now are you happy?"

"No." Forgetting the food, Sakura got up and quickly healed the wound.

"Thankfully, that didn't scar. If you came to me tomorrow, I don't think I'd be able to prevent it from scarring."

He simply nodded.

"Now I'm happy." She sat back down with a sweet smile.

"Good."

Sakura nearly choked on her food. Good? He cared?

She paused, and swallowed a particularly savory piece of meat. "Sasuke, you haven't even opened your lunch box yet. Eat. You don't have to stay and suffer being in my company, either. Say, why are you here?"

He wanted to say, "I'm already suffering." But he chose to not to.

"If I wasn't here, Sakura, you'd probably choke on your lunch and die."

She laughed, and it came out as a sweet tinkling of bells to his ears.

"Of course. Now eat, Sasuke."

"I already did," motioning to the second box, "Those are snacks for you."

What? It blew Sakura out of her mind. Was Sasuke actually being…nice to her?

"Thank you again, Sasuke. I'm such a pig."

"No, Ino's the pig. She's been gaining weight, hasn't she?"

"Sasuke! Don't say that!"

A small smile tugged the corners of his mouth, before he got up and went to the door.

"Don't forget to come by tonight."

Sakura nodded, now looking forward to dinner, even though she was eating lunch.

A small fire came back to her as it burned her suddenly. Her old self was surfacing again, the jewels wanted to burst out and show themselves. But no one had found the map yet; no one could dig where the treasure was.

The few hours came and went. Healing ten patients, recharging chakra, and eating the perfect little rice balls with various stuffing.

"Sakura-san!" A nurse called.

Stopping in mid bite, Sakura stuffed the rest in her mouth before rushing to take care of an emergency, coming back to finish the rest of the snacks.

Before she knew it, evening came. As she locked her office, she felt a familiar presence walking from down the hall.

"Sasuke?"

He walked toward her. "We'll walk back."

"Sure. Say, why don't we buy some ingredients along the way?"

Sasuke nodded in accordance.

When Sakura and Sasuke reached the store, Sakura already made a check list of food to buy.

She scrambled after most of them, and both went to pay, but Sakura realized that they both forgot to grab some dessert as well.

When she came back, Sasuke had all the bags in his hand.

"Sasuke! Who told you that you could pay?"

He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Let's go."

"But I've got to-"

"My treat!" The man said, winking.

"Thank you, sir."

At the Uchiha complex, Sakura dumped the food onto the kitchen counter and began making food.

Humming, Sakura chopped the vegetables effortlessly, wondering if all of Sasuke's knives were that sharp.

"Sakura…"

"Yes?" Scooping up the various greens, Sakura stirred them slowly into the pot.

"Never mind." Sakura wasn't even looking at him. How could he ask it?

A few moments later, Sakura turned the fire off and lifted the small pot off and set it on the table.

With a large ladle, Sakura put some soup in each bowl. After a long day, all she needed was comfort food.

They ate, with Sakura chattering about something insignificant, and Sasuke commenting here and there.

"Sasuke, that was good, wasn't it?" Sakura put down the bowl with a satisfied sigh. Nothing to calm the nerves than soup, really.

"It was good."

Sakura nearly blanched. What was up with Sasuke? Bringing in lunch, the compliment, the strange behavior.

"Don't worry about the dishes."

The dishes, too?!?

"Oh…all right." Sakura got up, and stretched. "Why don't we go into the garden? You know I love those roses."

"My mother loved them."

"Oh. Look, Sasuke, I'm sorry about mentioni-"

"It's fine."

Sakura didn't say anymore as she left the room and went outside.

It was almost dark; Sakura could see the vibrant hues of pinks, peaches, reds, all spilling onto darker hues of blues, greys, and blacks.

The fresh chill of the air nipped at Sakura as the air seemed tense, Sasuke following close behind.

Stopping at a particularly lovely rose, Sakura glanced at the dew drops adorning its soft petals.

Sasuke looked up the sky, watching the sunset, and put his hands in his pocket.

"Sakura." For the thousandth time that day, Sasuke just said her name.

She turned in curiosity, his back facing him. Maybe he'll finally tell her why he's been acting so strange. Maybe to find out some new ANBU tricks?

"That night, remember…when you told me…" Sasuke began, not sure how to put it. He'd never been good with words.

Sakura merely nodded, the memory flashing a thousand times in her head. There was no need for him to say anything. Is he apologizing? Her eyes fogged over.

"I hope you understand."

Sakura's jeweled green eyes focused back on Sasuke.

Sasuke stepped in front of her, not meeting her gaze quite yet.

"I want to be forgiven, Sakura. For my betrayal."

"Sasuke, you know Konoha trusts you now."

"No, Sakura. Not to be forgiven by Konoha. I don't care about that."

Gently, with the tips of her fingers, Sakura touched his face. "Then to be forgiven by what?"

"Not what, Sakura. Who." Sasuke slowly lifted his head, meeting her glance. He stood straight up, and held her wrists.

"Who…?" Sakura asked softly, trailing off.

He pressed closer, intertwining fingers, and leaned down to her ear, cheeks almost touching.

"You," Sasuke breathed.

"Me?" Sakura said faintly, not sure what was happening.

"Yes, you, Sakura…" Sasuke's arms now held Sakura in a strong, comforting embrace.

"I ask for your forgiveness, Sakura," he said quietly, and in an even softer voice, "I've seen you grow strong, powerful…I've seen you save so many lives…will you give me your forgiveness?"

But he already had the treasure map. He just didn't know it.

Smiling gently, Sakura put her arms around Sasuke. "You already have it."

His quiet voice soothed Sakura. "You've given me so much, Sakura," Sasuke began.

Sakura felt his lips touch the tip of her ear, soft like rose petals, kissing her jaw line. She felt euphoric, her eyes like chipped emeralds.

His mouth slowly moved to her lips, where he breathed, "If you will give me one last thing," he said, gently.

"I will give you everything."

Sakura's mouth parted slightly from the feelings she was experiencing at the moment, the emotional turmoil, and the physical bliss.

In a small whisper, Sasuke murmured, "I'm sorry for everything that hurt you."

"But now I'm the one hurting you, aren't I?" Sakura whispered back, hands on his shoulders. "Perhaps I should be asking forgiveness…forgiveness for these last six months."

"You must be stupid, Sakura. I left for two years, with you constantly in my mind, that night always playing in my mind like a broken record."

"You were hurt, and so was I, Sasuke. But now you're here," Sakura fought it. Fought the choking feeling rising inside her chest.

She whispered in a quiet tone, "But now you're here, and we can stop hurting, can't we?" Her voice nearly hoarse from the emotions surging through her.

Sakura found her lips claimed once more with a gentle, chaste kiss by the man in front of her. They kissed, satin lips finding treasures together.

"Yes," They finally broke apart, lightly breathing for air. "We can stop hurting."

"Sakura, I am willing to start over, to give you everything," he said with barely contained emotion.

"Then let's finish what I started, Sasuke. That night, I gave you my heart. This night," Sakura's voice spoke gently, "this night, I give you my forgiveness, and my heart. This night, _you_ gave me everything."

Sakura continued talking in a soft murmur.

"Sasuke, of course I love you. I still do, and these last six months, I was being selfish. I wanted to protect myself. I though you would come back, and leave me again. You…"

He looked at her, waiting for her to finish.

"After accomplishing your revenge, you gave up the rest of your dreams, didn't you?"

Sasuke nodded.

Looking at his eyes, Sakura finished in a breathless voice, "All for me."

"All for you, Sakura," he murmured, hand stroking her cheek.

"That night, I said your name, and I gave my gratitude. But I forgot…the phrase in the middle. I…"

With hands gently touching his face, Sakura smiled softly and looked at him, as if she was seeing him for the first time in two years and six months.

"Sakura…I…"

Sasuke bent down to kiss Sakura again with the most tender of actions, and slowly evolved into something deeper, more passionate

That's right, Sasuke wasn't good with words. But at least his he could show it a thousand times over, with the feelings a thousand times more powerful than any words he could ever utter.

Sakura smiled softly, all the tender happiness in the world lapping around them in soothing waves, washing away the dirt, the crusty gravels, leaving behind encrusted jewels in its wake.

Sasuke had found the map, and the treasure cove.

In the course of one night, he became the richest man in the world.

* * *

Thanks you all for reading. Let me know what you think. 

-Blackdragon.


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